Atlas of Battles

battle, landmark, ancient

Battle of Cannae

Battle of Cannae was a battle fought on 2 August 216 BC at Cannae, in what is now Italy. It was part of Second Punic War, which ran from 218 BC to 201 BC. The recorded result: Carthaginian victory (see Aftermath).

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Battle of Cannae, in Catalan
Battle of Cannae, in Catalan. File:Battle cannae destruction.gif: Frank Martini. Cartographer, Department of History, United States Military Academy. , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought2 August 216 BC
WhereCannae, Italy41.306N, 16.133E
OutcomeCarthaginian victory (see Aftermath)
BelligerentsRoman RepublicagainstCarthage
Part ofSecond Punic War218 BC to 201 BC

Where it sits in Second Punic War

Battle of Cissa, 218 BCBattle of Lilybaeum, 218 BCSiege of Mutina, 218 BCBattle of Rhone Crossing, 218 BCBattle of Ticinus, 218 BCBattle of the Trebia, 218 BCBattle of Ebro River, 217 BCBattle of Geronium, 217 BCBattle of Ager Falernus, 217 BCBattle of Plaisance, 217 BCBattle of Lake Trasimene, 217 BCBattle of Nola, 216 BCBattle of Silva Litana, 216 BCSiege of Petelia, 216 BCSiege of Acerra, 216 BCBattle of Cannae, 216 BCBattle of Dertosa, 215 BCBattle of Cornus, 215 BCBattle of Cumae, 215 BCBattle of Nola, 215 BCSiege of Syracuse, 214 BCBattle of Nola, 214 BCBattle of Beneventum, 214 BCBattle of Munda, 214 BCSiege of Arpi, 213 BCBattle of the Silarus, 212 BCBattle of Herdonia, 212 BCBattle of Capua, 212 BCBattle of Beneventum, 212 BCFirst Battle of Tarentum, 212 BCSecond Battle of Beneventum, 212 BCSiege of Capua, 212 BCBattle of Tarentum, 212 BCBattle of the Upper Baetis, 211 BCBattle of Capua, 211 BCBattle of Herdonia, 210 BCBattle of Numistro, 210 BCBattle of Sapriportis, 210 BCBattle of Castulo, 210 BCBattle of New Carthage, 209 BCBattle of Canusium, 209 BCBattle of Tarentum, 209 BCSecond Battle of Tarentum, 209 BCSiege of Baria, 209 BCBattle of Baecula, 208 BCBattle of Petelia, 208 BCBattle of the Metaurus, 207 BCBattle of Grumentum, 207 BCBattle of Carmona, 207 BCBattle of Ilipa, 206 BCBattle of Carteia, 206 BCBattle of Carteia, 206 BCBattle of Cartagena, 206 BCBattle of Iliturgi, 206 BCBattle of Crotona, 204 BCSiege of Utica, 204 BCBattle of the Great Plains, 203 BCBattle of Utica, 203 BCPo Valley Raid, 203 BCBattle of Cirta, 203 BCBattle of Zama, 202 BC218 BC202 BCBattle of Cannae, 216 BC
62 placed engagements of Second Punic War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date2 August 216 BC
PlaceCannae, Italy
41.306N, 16.133E
KindBattle, ancient
Territorial changeCarthaginian forces gain foothold in southern Italy; defection of some Roman allies including Capua to Carthage
StrengthTotal: 86,40015,000 light infantryVelites
Commanders
  • Gaius Terentius Varro
  • Lucius Aemilius Paullus (consul 219 BC)
  • Gnaeus Servilius Geminus
  • Publius Sempronius Tuditanus
  • Gaius Octavius (tribune 216 BC)
Battle of CannaeBattle of CannaeBattle of Cannae (1018)Battle of MontemaggioreBattle of CanusiumSiege of Canosa di PugliaBattle of CerignolaBattle of MontemaggioreBattle of CanusiumBattle of CerignolaNaplesSalernoBariPescaraTarantoLecceBrindisiBenevento100 km41.306N, 16.133E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.
Hannibal's route of invasion
Hannibal's route of invasion. Frank Martini. Cartographer, Department of History, United States Military Academy Derivative work: Domaina, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Cannae
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Cannae today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2023-06-21. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2023.

The recorded site stands at about 18 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 0 to 123 m, 122 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 67% cropland, 17% tree cover, 8% shrubland.

cropland: 67%tree cover: 17%shrubland: 8%grassland: 8%cropland 67%tree cover 17%shrubland 8%grassland 8%
west to east, 10.0 km11 to 59 mnorth to south, 10.0 km4 to 108 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 216 BC

Battle of Cannae is one of 184 engagements of the 3rd century BC in the atlas and one of 942 in present-day Italy.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q179591, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Cannae, revision 1385278617, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.